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NM Bone scan Whole body with pt refusal of images
I’m a little confused on which way to go with this one. At first I was thinking that I would bill for the body scan with the 52 modifier but now I’m thinking that I would only bill for the injection.
Can anyone help break this down for me?
Thanks
Foreign Body Removal — Sublabial Approach
Foreign Body Documentation guidelines
We have a provider who does many foreign body removals in the ear where this provider will only state " Right ear foreign body well packed on the TM today " and will state under procedure " Under microscope and speculum the right ear canal was visualized. There was a foreign body blocking view of the tympanic membrane. Using a suction the foreign body was taken off the tympanic membrane and removed. " .. But I noticed there is never documentation of what type of foreign body was removed from the ear (s). I don’t want to assume but I thought they should be documentation what type of foreign body was removed, not assumed " wax " in the ear, since impacted.
Can someone recommend or share a source where it specifies documentation guidelines for specifying type of foreign body removals, please???:confused:
foreign body in vagina
Foreign Body Removal of Distal Fibula
Foreign body removal of eyelid
"Right eyelid everted & tiny black FB removed." (aka – provider was able to obtain the FB w/o having to make an incision.)
Does an incision HAVE to be done in order to bill 67938 or is an incision just an inclusion in the procedure? Should I be billing an E/M service for this instead or FB removal?
Thanks for you help! :confused:
Foreign body removal vs. removal of scarred vein
1) "Patient complains of a foreign body in her right hand following having an IV that malfunctioned. It has been there for several weeks and is beginning to cause more pain. The patient believes that it is an IV that was left in and she insists that I remove it." 2) "Right hand has a palpable mass that is long and thin over the dorsum of the thenar space, about 2.5cm x 1mm, it is stiff, but flexible. There is some discoloration of the skin overlying." 3) "I discussed the risks of attempting to remove a foreign body here in the clinic, and recommended to her that I refer her to a surgeon. She refused and wants me to do it here. The consent having been signed, I attempted the removal in the office. The area was prepped and draped in a sterile fashion. Anesthesia was achieved with approximately 1.5 cc of lidocaine with epinephrine. An incision of about 2cm was made over the palpable abnormality. A blunt dissection was carried out down to the vein and then it was incised. There was old blood and clot expressed. An attempt was made to find a foreign body, a section of thickened and scarred vein was removed. (I clarified this with the provider; the vein had basically dead-ended due to the clot & there was no blood flow) The wound was closed with 4.0 nylon with 3 simple interrupted sutures with good cosmesis and hemostasis. Total blood loss estimated at 1cc. It is unclear if there was a foreign body that was not found, or if the palpable abnormality was clot and scarred vein." (When patient returned for follow up, there was no evidence of a mass or foreign body)
Does anyone have suggestions on how to code this? Provider gave me M79.5 as a dx, which is what he thought before he did the procedure. Neither of us thinks it really fits. I can’t find a CPT code that really applies either. Thanks!
J. Beck, CPC
AORN guidelines on unintended retention of a foreign body focuses on counting and communication
Patients continue to be stitched closed with surgical sponges, gloves, needles, electrodes, scalpels, wires, tweezers, forceps, scopes, masks, tubes, and scissors left inside them. To combat the problem, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) released updates to its Guideline for Prevention of Retained Surgical Items back in 2016.
Foreign Body Removal – Nose Ring
I am trying to find out if there is a separate CPT code to bill for the removal of an infected nose ring. This is in an Urgent Care setting. My physician used a ring cutter to remove the jewelry from the nose and it was extremely infected. Can we bill for this outside of the regular E/M or is it included?
I would be very grateful for any help I can get!
Thank you!
Angela Mehl, CPC